Hanging application OUTLOOK.EXE

Solution 1:
1. Register an important send/receive library file.  Go to Start > Run and type regsvr32 inetcomm.dll
2. Check if antivirus email check is slowing sending and receiving.  Disable it.
3. In the account settings, Advanced settings, change the server timeout time from 1 min to 5 min
4. Check if outgoing mail server authentication is required. Select that option in account settings and use same settings as incoming server
5. Your ISP may be blocking port 25. Try using alternate port 587.
6.  Check with email provider Tech Support to determine if server is having trouble.

Solution 2:
Repair Outlook by following instructions at:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/repair-an-ost-or-pst-file-in-outlook-HA001056300.aspx

For more details check this out:
http://forums.techguy.org/business-applications/742774-solved-outlook-exe-error.html

http://www.slipstick.com/problems/nosend.htm

Outlook 2007 Error: “Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot open the Outlook window”

Here is the solution:

Start->run..then type the following -> "Outlook.exe /resetnavpane"

Source: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistaprograms/thread/baf53169-0514-4dd3-808f-d8437c898e67

Some useful SCCM learning resources

Great SCCM 7 Guides :
http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1064-sccm-2007-guides/

https://www.sit.auckland.ac.nz/SCCM_Deployment_Guide

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/yli628/archive/2008/06/25/setup-configmgr-2007-sp1-from-start-to-finish.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/archive/2009/07/27/a-step-by-step-for-using-osd-through-system-center-configuration-manager-2007.aspx
http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-4079
Migrate to Windows 7 from XP:
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/springboard/archive/2009/11/03/springboard-series-blog-migrating-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7-part-1.aspx

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7
http://communities.intel.com/community/openportit/vproexpert/blog/2009/11/19/vpro-windows-7-migration-with-sccm-sp2
http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/windows-7-copy-default-profile

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/973289

http://blog.brianleejackson.com/sysprep-a-windows-7-machine-%E2%80%93-start-to-finish-v2

Guidelines for SCCM 2007 SP2 Installation on Server 2008

I was working on project to set up SCCM2007 on Server 2008 platform and created a small document to outline all major steps/requirements needed to be considered. I am sharing that document here for the community:
1.Software Requirements for SCCM2007 SP2:   - Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition 32 Bit (with C: and D: partitions)
   - IIS 7.0 (including BITS and WebDav extension)
   - Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0
   -.net framework 2.0
   - SQL Server 2005 SP2

2.Hardware Requirements:    - RAM: 16 GB recommended, minimum 4 GB
   - Storage: Four 15000 RPM hard disks(200 GB each) configured in RAID 10 mode
    (Write caching should be enabled on hardware RAID controllers)
   - CPU: quad core (recommended), 2 core (min)
3.Other requirements:
   - SCCM2007 SP2 DVD or ISO
   - Port number 445 needs to be opened for SCCM site to site configuration.
   - What will be the site code? (It’s a 3 character code)
   - SCCM server name?
   - SCCM server must be member of an AD domain
   - Admin rights on SCCM server
   - Schema Admin group should be added to Enterprise Admin group for extending     the schema by enterprise admin
   - Service account for installing SQL server (in case service account in not possible  domain admin user account can be used)
   - To install client on target computers we SCCM server computer account should be a member of local admin group or we can use a domain admin user account with admin rights on target computers
4.Requirement for OS deployment:   - Reference machines( different hardware models)
   - OS CD with volume license key for target OS
   - Source files for Software packages( Office 2007, Adobe Reader, Java etc)
5.Extending Schema: Extend the Active Directory schema by running ExtADSch.exe  on domain controller (from SMSSETUP\BIN\i386 directory of SCCM DVD) . Extending AD schema increases traffic between DCs to replicate the newly added schema attributes. It is recommended to do this activity when there is low traffic on the WAN links.

Benefits of extending the schema:
- Efficient client installation and site assignment
- Automatic port configuration for client-to-server communication
- Verifying a trusted management point
- We use all SCCM Features with the least amount of administrative overheads
- Offers the most secure solution for storing configuration information
Steps
- Fulfill hardware and software requirement
- download SCCM 2007 SP2 package
- Install OS, IIS, SQL and other prerequisites
- Create the System Management container in AD
- Set security permissions on the System Management container(from ADUS snap in)
- Extend AD schema
- Prepare Server 2008 for SCCM:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc431377.aspx
- Install WSUS and WDS services
- Install SCCM
- Configure the basic settings
- Enable AD system discovery
- Configure the boundary
- Install clients on a small non critical group of computers
- Add distribution point, PSP and roles
- Configure SCCM to store distribution packages on D: drive
- Create software packages
- Created OS Install packages from OS CDs (Windows Vista, Windows 7)
- Arrange reference computer hardware models and their drivers
- Import drivers and create driver packages for all available models
- Create packages for Sysprep, Configmgr client
- Create task sequences to build the reference machine
- Deploy OS install package and build the reference machine
- Customize the reference machine
- Run Windows update
- Capture the OS image from the reference machine
- Copy the captured image file from reference machine to SCCM server
- Create the OS image
- Create task sequence including OS image, applications, SCCM clients etc
- Start deploying the image using the task sequence

Windows 7 Gadgets

Some cool resources for Windows 7 gadgets:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/personalize/gadgets
http://windows7gadgets.net/
http://www.intowindows.com/20-handy-gadgets-for-your-windows-7-desktop/
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windowsvista/tp/vistagadgetssu.htm

Failed to send HTTP request. (Error at WinHttpSendRequest: 12007)

I came across this error while installing SCCM client on a Windows 7 Machine. ccmsetup.log file was showing these errors:

Failed to send HTTP request. (Error at WinHttpSendRequest: 12002)    ccmsetup    8/18/2010 12:52:04 PM    2512 (0x09D0)
Can't connect to or retrieve file: http://smsserver/CCM_Client/ccmsetup.cab.  Will attempt a retry...    ccmsetup    8/18/2010 12:52:04 PM    2512 (0x09D0)
Next retry in 10 minute(s)...    ccmsetup    8/18/2010 12:52:04 PM    2512 (0x09D0)
Failed to send HTTP request. (Error at WinHttpSendRequest: 12002)    ccmsetup    8/18/2010 1:02:26 PM    2512 (0x09D0)
Can't connect to or retrieve file: http://smsserver/CCM_Client/ccmsetup.cab.  Will attempt a retry...    ccmsetup    8/18/2010 1:02:26 PM    2512 (0x09D0)

Solution provided at this Technet post worked for me:

-Go to IIS and expand Web Sites > CCM_Client
-Right click CCM_Client and select Permissions
-Add 'Everyone' and give them Read permissions.

SCCM Client Installation Error 80041001

While upgrading workstations from SMS client to SCCM client, you may come across this error which also indicate WMI errors in the CCMSETUP.LOG file :

"MSI: Warning 25001. Setup failed due to unexpected circumstance. The error code is 80041001"

Solution:

1. Uninstall the SCCM client by running "%WinDir%\System32\ccmsetup\ccmsetup.exe /uninstall"
2. Click on Start --> Run --> Type "services.msc" --> <enter>
3. Stop the "Windows Management Instrumentation" service
4. Open Windows Explorer and go to "%WinDir%\System32\Webem\Repository"
5. Rename the Repository folder to "OLDRepository"
6. Go back to Services.msc and start the "Windows Management Instrumentation" service
7. Install the SCCM client by either pushing the client or manually installing the client from the command line on the workstation.
8. View the "%WinDir%\System32\ccmsetup\ccmsetup.log" file to make sure the client installs as requested.
9. Verify the "%WinDir%\System32\Webem\Repository" folder was created.

Deploying Office 2007 via software distribution (SCCM 2007 or SMS 2003)

Here's a link to the whitepaper which contains a step be step instructions to setup na d deploy Office2007 package to SCCM or SMS clients:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/2/d/e2daa5d4-b813-4cb9-89aa-1c3a8099f347/deploying_office_2007_with_sms_2003_r2_white_paper.doc

Site Mode is unknown

Publish the site in AD as follows:

1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Site Management / <site code> - <site name>.

2. Right-click <site code> - <site name>, and click Properties.

3. On the Advanced tab of site properties, select the Publish this site in Active Directory Domain Services check box.

Fatal Error : Setup failed to install SMS Provider

Here are some pointers to resolve the issue:

-SPN registration for the SQL server is not done
-you have permission or other Kerberos issues with your machine accounts
-you don't have Domain Admin rights (it was one of the requirements from client) for sccm service account
-SCCM server is not the member of local administrators group of SQL server( in case of remote SQL server)
-SQL server instance may not necessarily be using the default port of 1433. 

For more info check this out: http://blogs.technet.com/mkleef/archive/2007/07/19/getting-sccm-2007-rc1-to-install-and-work-properly.aspx

SMS_MPCONTROL_MANAGER error: management point is not resonding to HTTP requests.

Symptom:
After upgrading to Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2, the SMS Agent Host service started to crash and at times failed to start. This was causing failure status messages associated with the Management Point.

Cause:
The SMS Agent Host can impact the Management Point services.

Resolution:
Uninstalled the ConfigMgr client from the Site Server.
Uninstalled the Management Point role and then rebooted the site server.
Reinstalled the Management Point role.
Reinstalled the SMS client.

Programs and Ports Required by Configuration Manager 2007

The following Configuration Manager 2007 features require exceptions to be made on the Windows Firewall:

Queries

If you are running the Configuration Manager console on a computer running Windows Firewall, queries will fail the first time they are run.
After failing to run the first time, the operating system displays a dialog box asking if you want to unblock statview.exe. If you unblock statview.exe, future queries will run without errors. You can also manually add statview.exe to the list of programs and services on the Exceptions tab of the Windows Firewall prior to running a query.

Client Push Installation

In order to successfully use client push to install the Configuration Manager 2007 client, you must add the following as exceptions to the Windows Firewall:

• File and Printer Sharing
• Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

Client Installation using Group Policy

In order to successfully use Group Policy to install the Configuration Manager 2007 client, you must add File and Printer Sharing as an exception to the Windows Firewall.

Client Requests

In order for client computers to communicate with Configuration Manager 2007 site systems, you must add the following as exceptions to the Windows Firewall:
TCP Port 80 (for HTTP communication)
TCP Port 443 (for HTTPS communication)
Network Access Protection In order for client computers to successfully communicate with the system health validator point, you need to allow the following ports:

• UDP 67 and UDP 68 for DHCP
• TCP 80/443 for IPSec

Remote Control

In order to use the remote tools features of Configuration Manager 2007, you need to allow the following ports:

• TCP port 2701
• TCP port 2702
• TCP port 135

Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop

To enable Remote Assistance to be initiated from the SMS Administrator console, add both the custom program helpsvc.exe and the custom port TCP 135 to the list of permitted programs and services in Windows Firewall on the client computer. Also, Windows Firewall must be configured to permit Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop. If a user initiates a request for Remote Assistance from that computer, Windows Firewall will automatically be configured to permit Remote Assistance and Remote Desktop.

Windows Event Viewer, Windows Performance Monitor and Windows Diagnostics

To enable Windows event viewer, Windows performance monitor and Windows diagnostics to be accessed from the Configuration Manager console, you must enable File and Printer Sharing as an exception on the Windows Firewall.

More info: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632618.aspx and    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb694088.aspx

How to copy Outlook Personal Folders (PSTs) during XP to Win 7 Migration using USMT 4.0 Hardlinking

 

By default, USMT 4.0 migrates PST files that are linked to a user’s Outlook profile. This is done through internal USMT functions named SetPstPathInMapiStruct and UpdateMvBinaryMapiStruct which is called from within migapp.xml.
What this means is that PST files which are simply stored on the drive but not actually connected to Outlook will not migrate by default when using /i:migapp.cml and /i:migdocs.xml. It’s very possible a user is keeping those around for archive purposes, though. In the example below, the user has a copy of a PST in a c:\psts folder that is not attached to the Outlook profile. They also have a PST created by Outlook Auto-Archive.

In order to migrate those PST files we need to follow these steps:
1.Create a custom XML file
Here is a sample that will gather all PST files from all fixed drives:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<migration urlid="http://www.microsoft.com/migration/1.0/migxmlext/pst%22>
  <component type="Documents" context="UserAndSystem">
    <displayName>All PST migrated from all fixed drives, regardless of location</displayName>
    <role role="Data">
      <rules>
        <include>
          <objectSet>
            <script>MigXmlHelper.GenerateDrivePatterns ("* [*.pst]", "Fixed")</script>
          </objectSet>
        </include>
      </rules>
    </role>
  </component>
</migration>
Paste that into Notepad and save as PST.XML into your USMT folder and C:\Windows\System32 folder of the target Windows XP machine

2.Add a command  switch /i:pst.xml in TS variable  “OSDMigrateAdditionalCaptureOptionsscanstate” :